Row boat simulating vehicle for children



March 23, 1965 J. J. SENDOYKAS Row son smuwrms VEHICLE FOR CHILDREN Filed Dec. 27. 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 llllllll.

ll i llll March 1965 J. .1. SENDOYKAS ROW son SIMULATING VEHICLE FOR cmwasn Filed 1390.27. 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 U MM Mam}! 1965 J. J. SENDOYKAS ROW BOAT SIMULATING VEHICLE FOR CHILDREN Filed Dec. 27. 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 mm P 4 n I 3% Maih 1965 .1. J. SENDOYKAS ROW BOAT SIMULATING VEHICLE F OR CHILDREN Filed Dec. 27, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States -atent 3,174,767 ROW BQAT SIIVEULATHJG VEHEQLE FOR CHILDREN Jack J. Sendoylras, 3201 E. Jefferson Ave, Apt. 1, Sit. Clair Shores, Mich. Filed Dec. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 162,369 9 Claims. (ill. 280-11 This invention relates to a vehicle having wheels thereon, one of which is actuated by a pair of oars for propelling the vehicle along a surface. The vehicle is essentially a childs toy with the body thereof in the shape of a boat.

Heretofore toy boats of this general character have not been entirely satisfactory from an operational standpoint because of the manner in which the oars operate to propel the vehicle and to steer it.

The present invention is characterized in part by a single driven wheel, a crankshaft driven by both oars simultaneously, and a steering system structurally separate from the driving mechanism. Among the advantages of this construction, it is not necessary that the operator concerns himself with manipulating the oars at different speeds in order to make a turn or to travel a straight path. It is noted that where both wheels are driven it is difiicult to maintain a straight path particularly where the wheels vary slightly in their diameters. With this construction, manufacturing tolerances are not so critical and the complexity of the driving mechanism in particular is minimized. Moreover, the oar mechanism and the steering mechanism though separately operating, function in a cooperative manner to render the operation of the vehicle easy and non-confusing for a child.

The main objects of the invention are: to provide a toy boat having wheels thereon with improved propelling means and steering means which allows the boat to be readily handled by a child; to provide a toy boat having wheels thereon operable by a pair of oars pivotally mounted at opposite sides of the boat body wherein only one of the wheels is connected to the crankshaft which is actuated by the oars; to provide a self-propelled toy boat having front and rear seats and actuating oars pivotally mounted therebetween, with foot operable steering means which may be operated from either the front seat or rear seat positions; to provide improved oar means for a selfpropelled toy boat which are constructed to provide a wide range of adjustments of the height of the oars relative to the boat body; and to provide a self-propelled toy boat of such construction that it may be economically mass produced.

Further objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of the vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View of along the line 22 thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional View taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2; and

PEG. 1 taken FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing one of the cars in its highest adjusted position.

In the drawings:

The vehicle comprises boat-shaped body 10 formed to provide a foot well 12, a forward seat 14 and a rear seat 16. The body it) may be fabricated from two sheet metal sections 18 and 2% or could be of one piece molded construction. A pair of front wheels 22 are rotatably mounted on an axle 24 and retained thereon by suitable means such as washers 25 and cotter pins 26. The axle is supported in the bearing aperture 27 of the downwardly extending legs 28 of a yoke or bracket St A first foot-actuated lever 32 is formed to provide a pair of downwardly extending foot abutments 34 and 36 and is pivotally mounted to the body (specifically to the underside of the front seat 14) by a shaft 38 which is provided with a reduced diameter portion 40 extending through a slightly larger diameter aperture 41 in lever 32. A washer 42 engages the underside of the lever 32 and is held on the shaft portion w by a cotter pin 44 to rotatahly clamp the lever 32 between the washer and a shoulder 46 formed by a large diameter portion of shaft 38. The shaft 38 is headed over as at 48 to secure the same to the body 10. The lever 32 extends into the foot well 12 and from under the front seat 14 through an elongated aperture 49 in a forward wall of the body, and a shaft 50 substantially the same as shaft 38 is secured to the forward end of the lever 32 and is provided with a reduced portion 52 which rotatably extends through an arm 54- and is held thereon by a cotter pin 56. Arm 54 is formed with a pair of downwardly extending lugs or ears 58 which extend through recesses in the form of apertures 60' in the top of bracket 30. A support bracket 62 has a pair of upwardly extending legs 64 and 66 secured to the body 1% by bolt means 63. A rivet '76 holds theb racket 3t) and the arm 5'4 tightly against each other with the cars 58 in the apertures 60, but the rivet is sufficiently loosely headed to allow rotation of bracket 30 and arm 54 relative to the bracket 62 for steering the vehicle. It is seen that by exerting pressure against either one of the abutments 34 or 36, lever 32 will be caused to rotate about its pivot shaft 4d and result in rotation of the arm 54 and bracket 3h about the shaft portion 71 of the rivet 70. The direaction of pivoting of the bracket 3ft will depend on which abutment is engaged. For example, if abutment 3a is urged toward the front 74 of the vehicle, lever 32 will be caused to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1 which will cause the bracket 30 and the wheels thereon to also pivot in a clockwise direction to thereby steer the vehicle to the right. On the other hand engagement of abutment 34 will steer the vehicle to the left. A rigidifying member or strap 76 is riveted as at 78 to the body and is pivotally connected to axle 24 by means of a rivet 39 extending through the axle.

A second steering lever 52 extends into the foot well from under the rear seat 16 through an elongated aperture 83 in a rear wall of the body and is pivotally mounted on a shaft 34 which may be of similar construction to shaft 33 and held onto the lever 82 and the body by washer 85, cotter pin 86 and heading 87. Lever 82 is provided with a air of abutments 3% and 89. A link or connecting member 90 is formed with an upstanding portion d2 which is pivotally received in a suitable aperture in one side of the lever 82 and is retained therein by washer 94 and cotter pin 96. Link is also formed with an upstanding portion 98 which is pivotally received in a suitable aperture in one side of lever 32 and retained therein by Washer and cotter pin 102. It is seen, therefore, that as the lever 32 is rotated in a clockwise direction in FIG. 1, the lever 82 will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction. This reverse operation of levers 32 and 82 also occurs with counterclockwise rotation of lever 32. It is noted that by so connecting the link 92 to opposite portions of the levers 32 and 82 the direction of turn of the vehicle will always be in the same direction with respect to the foot'applying the pressure regardless of the position of the operator. This feature eliminates unnecessary confustion which might occur in the childs mind in making rapid steering adjustments of the vehicle particularly where the child has changed his seating position from front to rear or vice versa.

It is a feature of the invention that the lower arm portion '54 of the front foot-actuated lever 32 and the rear foot-actuated lever 82 are complemental parts of the lever 32. In other words, the arm 54 is identical to the front portion of the front lever 32 and the rear'lever 82' is identical to the rear portion of the front lever 32. This provides a manufacturing convenience and economy as all of these levers and lever components can be made from a single member which preferably is of sheet metal and is made by conventional stamping and forming operations. Thus, a plurality of stamped parts identical to the lever 32 are stamped and shaped in a suitable forming die. One-half of these parts are then cut transversely in two in a subsequent operation. The front portions of the members thus cut in two form the arms 54 and the rear portions of these members form the rear foot-operated lever 82. Manifestly, the form of these parts and the manner in which they are produced minimizes tooling costs and the inventory of parts which make up the complete. assembly. 1

The vehicle is propelled by means of oars 104 and 105 and suitable linkages described below. Oar 104 comprises a first arm member 106 having a bearing portion 108 formed with a bore 110. The oar further comprises a rock shaft 112 having a short portion 114 and an integrally attached long portion 116. Arm 112 is suitably dimensioned to slide within the bore 110. Each of the portions 114 and 116 is provided with a plurality of flats or countersinks 118 engageable by suitable set screw 120 which is threaded into the bearing 108 for retaining the arm 106 in a properly adjusted position'relative to the body 10. In a manner hereinafter described, the arm 112 may be reversed in its position shown in FIG. 5 to the position shown in FIG. 7 wherein the long portion 116 of the arm is attached to the arm 106 in order to provide a higher adjustment of the arm 106 relative to the body 10. A bracket 121 is secured to the body 10 by bolt means 122 and is formed with a pair of legs 124 and 126 having suitable apertures 128 and 130 respectively, for rotatably receiving the arm 112 and providing bearings therefor. Leg 124 may be formed with an elongated bearing portion 132 extending through an aperture 134 in the top of body 10 to provide substantial bearing surface for arm 112. Suitable washers 136 and 138 and cotter pins 140 and 142 extending through the arm 112 properly position and retain the arm on the bracket 120. Suitably spaced cotter pin apertures 144 and 146 are provided in the long portion 116 to retain the same within the bracket 121 when the arm 112 is reversed to the position shown in FIG. 7. It is noted that bearing 108 is provided with the set screw 120 adjacent its bottom portion so that bearing 108 will be sufficiently rigidly held on either portion 114 or 116 when the outermost flat 118 is utilized as shown in FIG. 7. Oar 105'similarlycomprises a first arm member 148 and a second arm member 150. Oar 105 and the mounting means therefor which pivotally supports it upon the body 10 is of similar construction to that described for 2 oar 104 but is simply reversed 180 as shown in FIG.

The rear wheel assembly of the vehicle comprises a driven wheel 152 locked onto a crankshaft 154 by means of a pin 156 which extends through an aperture in the crankshaft 154 and nests in a groove 158 formed in the hub 160 of the wheel. Another wheel 162 is rotatably mounted on the other end of the crankshaft 154. Suitable washers 164 and cotter pins 166 extending through the shaft ends retain the wheels 152 and 162 thereon. The crankshaft is rotatably mounted in the downwardly extending legs 168 and 170 of a bracket 172 which is secured by suitable bolt means 174 to the body 10. A pair of rigidifying brackets 176 and 170 are secured by bolt means 180 to the body and are provided with slots 182 and 184 respectively, relatively tightly receiving the legs 168 and 170 of the bracket 172 for rigidifying the same. Suitable washers 18 6 and cotter pins 188 retain the crankshaft 154 in its proper position within the bearing portions 190 of the legs. The arms 116 and 122 of the oars 106 and 105 respectively, are loosely received in apertures 194 and 196 of a pair of power transmitting members 198 and 200 which are provided with apertures 202 and 204 at their opposite ends for loosely receiving the eccentric portions 206 and 208 of the crankshaft 154. Suitable washers 210 and cotter pins 212 retain members 198 and 200 in their proper position on the oar portions 116 and 192 and on the eccentrics 206 and 208.

In the operation of the vehicle, the oars 104 and 105 are reciprocated back and forth in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle which causes the eccentrics 206 and 205 to rotate to drive the wheel 152. It is noted that this motion of the oars is continued during the steering of the vehicle and does not require any'complex manipulation considerations on the part of the child operator. Moreover, the use of the two eccentrics of the crankshaft allows the use of two oars which imparts a feel of rowing to the operator.

While it will be apparent that the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects of the invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A childs vehicle comprising a body having front and rear seats and a foot well between said seats;

a' steerable front wheel assembly supporting said body forwardly of said foot well;

a rear wheel assembly supporting the rear portion of said body; a drive mechanism operatively connected to said rear wheel assembly to propel said vehicle and including manual actuator means disposed above said foot well between said front and rear seats and operable from either of said seats; and

a steering mechanism including separate front and rear foot-actuated levers projecting into said foot well each adjacent to a respective one of said seats and operatively connected to each other for mutual operation and to said front wheel assembly, whereby said vehicle can be steered from either of said seats while operating said manual actuator means.

'2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said front foot-actuated lever comprises spaced fixedly interconnecting members, 7

one of said members being identical to the front portion only of the other of said members.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said front foot-actuated lever comprises spaced fixedly interconnected members,

one of said members being identical to the front portion only of the other of said members,

and wherein said'rear foot-actuated lever is identical to the rear portion only of said other member.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said front foot-actuated lever comprises spaced fixedly interconnected first and second members,

and wherein said rear foot-actuated lever comprises a single member and wherein, the second member of said front footactuated lever and the single member of said rear foot-actuated lever are complemental parts of said first member.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said front foot-actuated lever comprises spaced fixedly interconnected upper and lower members,

said upper member being pivotally connected to the underside of said front seat and projecting into said foot well from under said seat,

said lower member being identical to the front portion only of said upper member and connected to said front wheel assembly.

6. A childs vehicle comprising a body having front and rear seats and a foot well between said seats;

a steerable front wheel assembly supporting said body forwardly of said foot well,

said front wheel assembly comprising a fixed support on said body,

a wheel carrying yoke under said support, and

a pivot connecting said support and said yoke;

21 rear wheel assembly supporting the rear portion of said body;

a drive mechanism operatively connected to said rear wheel assembly to propel said vehicle and including manual actuator means disposed above said foot Well between said front and rear seats and operable from either of said seats; and

a steering mechanism including separable front and rear foot-actuated levers projecting into said foot well each adjacent to a respective one of said seats and operatively connected to each other for mutual operation and to said front wheel assembly, said front foot-actuated lever comprising spaced fixedly interconnected upper and lower members, said upper member being pivotally connected to the underside of said front seat and projecting into said foot well from under said seat,

said lower member being identical to the front portion only of said upper member and connected to said yoke by means including said pivot, whereby said vehicle can be steered' from either of said seats while operating said manual actuator means.

7. A childs vehicle comprising a body having front and rear seats and a foot well between said seats;

a steerable front Wheel assembly supporting said body forwardly of said foot well, said front wheel assembly comprising a fixed support on said body,

a wheel carrying yoke under said support, and

a pivot connecting said support and said yoke;

a rear wheel assembly supporting the rear portion of said body;

a drive mechanism operatively connected to said rear wheel assembly to propel said vehicle and including manual actuator means disposed above said foot well between said front and rear seats and operable from either of said seats; and

a steering mechanism including separate front and rear foot-actuated levers projecting into said foot well each adjacent to a respective one of said seats and operatively connected to each other for mutual operation and to said front wheel assembly, said front foot-actuated lever comprising spaced fixedly interconnected upper and lower members, said upper member being pivotally connected to the underside of said front seat and projecting into said foot well from under said seat,

said lower member being identical to the front portion only of said upper member and connected to said yoke by said pivot and by lug elements formed thereon and interlocking with recesses provided in said yoke, whereby said vehicle can be steered from either of said seats while op erating said manual actuator means.

8. A childs vehicle comprising a body having front and rear seats and a foot well between said seats;

a steerable front wheel assembly supporting said body forwardly of said foot well, said front wheel assembly comprising a U-shaped support fastened to the underside of said front seat,

a wheel carrying yoke under said support, and

a pivot connecting said support and said yoke;

a rear wheel assembly supporting the rear portion of said body;

a drive mechanism operatively connected to said rear wheel assembly to propel said vehicle and including manual actuator means disposed above said foot well between said front and rear seats and operable from either of said seats; and

a steering mechanism including separate front and rear foot-actuated levers projecting into said foot well each adjacent to a respective one of said seats and operatively connected to each other for mutual operation and to said front wheel assembly,

said front foot-actuated lever comprising spaced fixedly interconnected upper and lower sheet metal members,

said upper member being pivotally connected to the underside of said front seat above said U-shaped support and projecting into said foot well from under said seat,

said lower member being identical to the front portion only of said upper member and sandwiched at one end thereof between said support and said yoke,

the mentioned end of said lower member being interconnected to said yoke by said pivot and by ears bent downwardly from the corners thereof and interlocking with recesses provided in said yoke, whereby said vehicle can be steered from either of said seats While operating said manual actuator means.

9. A childs vehicle comprising a body having front and rear seats and a foot well between said seats;

a steerable front wheel assembly supporting said body forwardly of said foot well;

a rear wheel assembly supporting the rear portion of said body, said rear wheel assembly including a driven axle having cranks therein; 7

a drive mechanism operatively connected to said rear wheel assembly to propel said vehicle and including vertical rock shafts journaled in bearings provided on the sides of said body,

arms formed as integral extensions on the lower ends of said rock shafts extending inwardly under said body and of a different length than said rock shafts,

links connecting said arms and said cranks,

oar-shaped manual actuator means on and fixed to the upper ends of said rock shafts and disposed above said foot well between said front and rear seats and operable from either of said seats, said arms and said rock shafts being interchangeable in said bearings and interchangeably connectable with said oarshaped manual actuator means and said links to vary the height of said oar-shaped manual actuator means on said body; and

a steering mechanism including separate front and rear foot-actuated levers projecting 7 into said foot W611 :each adjacent to a respective one of said seats andnperatively connected to each other' for mutual operation-"and to saidfront wheel assel bly, Wherebysaid vehicle can be steered from either Of saidseats While operating said manual actuator 5 means.

References Cited by-the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 6/ 22 France. 1/ 24' France. 8 20 Great Britain. 10/ 34 Great Britain.

A. HARRY LEVY, Priinafy Examiner. LEO FRIAGLIA, Examiner. 

6. A CHILD''S VEHICLE COMPRISING A BODY HAVING FRONT AND REAR SEATS AND A FOOT WELL BETWEEN SAID SEATS; A STEERABLE FRONT WHEEL ASSEMBLY SUPPORTING SAID BODY FORWARDLY OF SAID FOOT WELL, SAID FRONT WHEEL ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A FIXED SUPPORT ON SAID BODY, A WHELL CARRYING YOKE UNDER SAID SUPPORT, AND A PIVOT CONNECTING SAID SUPPORT AND SAID YOKE; A REAR WHEEL ASSEMBLY SUPPORTING THE REAR PORTION OF SAID BODY; A DRIVE MECHANISM OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID REAR WHEEL ASSEMBLY TO PROPEL SAID VEHICLE AND INCLUDING MANUAL ACTUATOR MEANS DISPOSED ABOVE SAID FOOT WELL BETWEEN SAID FRONT AND REAR SEATS AND OPERABLE FROM EITHER OF SAID SEATS; AND A STEERING MECHANISM INCLUDING SEPARABLE FRONT AND REAR FOOT-ACTUATED LEVERS PROJECTING INTO SAID FOOT WELL EACH ADJACENT TO A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID SEATS AND OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER FOR MUTAL OPERATION AND TO SAID FRONT WHEEL ASSEMBLY, SAID FRONT FOOT-ACTUATED LEVER COMPRISING SPACED FIXEDLY INTERCONNECTED UPPER AND LOWER MEMBERS, SAID UPPER MEMBER BEING PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID FRONT SEAT AND PROJECTING INTO SAID FOOT WELL FROM UNDER SAID SEAT, SAID LOWER MEMBER BEING IDENTICAL TO THE FRONT PORTION ONLY OF SAID UPPER MEMBER AND CONNECTED TO SAID YOKE BY MEANS INCLUDING SAID PIVOT, WHEREBY SAID VEHICLE CAN BE STEERED FROM EITHER OF SAID SEATS WHILE OPERATING SAID MANUAL ACTUATOR MEANS. 